Charley Isabelle Mustow - First Encounters
by G.N. Took-Baggins
Summary: Charley Isabelle Mustow is living by herself, she thinks life is going normally, but there's one thing that she thinks makes her different... the never-ending drumming in her head. And then she meets someone who shares her problems, he too has the drumming...


Charley saw the door again, the black door, but this time she put her hand out and turned the handle, blinding white light poured in and light up the room behind her, she turned around to look, but even with the light coming in the room was black, she looked back at the white room which she could tell now was a long white hallway and she stepped in, A low drumming and an odd whooshing sound were coming from somewhere, she walked a little deeper, she could hear laughing now, but it was the saddest, scariest, most pained laugh she had ever heard, as she walked farther down the laughing and whooshing got even louder, she put her hand over her ears, but now the drumming was louder, almost as if it was in her head. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, A beat of four, drumming in her head, getting louder and louder, she took her hands off her ears, the laughing was louder now and the whooshing almost non-existent, it was getting louder and louder and louder.  
Charley screamed and sat straight up in bed, sweat was pouring down her face, she grabbed her knees and sat in bed for a bit. Shaking, she got up and went to the kitchen, she got a cup of tea and sat down at the table, she sighed, something was happening to her she just did not know what, yet.

Charley grabbed her coat and headed out the door, she walked to the corner and sat down at the bus stop, she pulled out her phone and checked her texts, 'Empty' read her inbox, a bus pulled up, she paid the driver and sat down, she looked at all the people,only four were on board, but she thought it was funny how much you could tell about someone without even talking to them, she turned and put her head against the window, Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, she heard the drumming, she turned and looked around the bus, and then she saw it, three out of four people making the noises, one of them tapping on the side of their chair, one of them was patting it on the side of their leg and the driver was tapping on the side of the wheel, it was all the same beat, 1, 2, 3, 4, bum, bum, bum, bum, Charley pulled out her iPod and put her ear buds in, the drumming died down. *Beep* *Beep* her iPod notified her of a low battery, I just charged you, she thought. When she took the ear buds out she asked the driver. "Can you stop, please?" the driver looked back at her and nodded. "Sure thing, lady." the bus pulled to a stop at the next bus stop and Charley got out, she turned to walk away, but a man standing about ten feet away from her, she jumped back a little, he was tall and he was just staring at her, but she could not see his face. She started walking past him, when she was about four feet away from him, he started walking towards her, he bumped into her as he passed, she checked for her wallet, still safe, he and what happened on the bus freaked her out and she wanted to sit down with a nice cup of tea. When she got home and took her coat off a small piece of paper fell, she picked it up and read it, 'We need to talk. Clock tower 7:00' She did not know what it was, but something was off about that man, maybe she would find out.

Charley wrapped her coat around herself as she walked to the clock tower. She was feeling scared and did not know if she should even be here but as scared as she was she was just as curious about what this man wanted. She stopped under the clock and sat down on a snow-covered bench, it was a bit cold but she was okay with that. She looked around, feeling like someone would jump out at any time. she rub her arms making the goose-bumps go away. She was thinking that if no one came in 15 minutes, she would leave, that gave her a better reason than leaving because she was scared, which she was.  
She listen for any odd noises, but she still heard the drumming, faintly.  
She wished it would stop, so she had not paid it any attention.  
Charley saw someone coming closer, she sat up to look at them, but they walked right past her. She sighed and sat back.  
a few minutes later she heard footsteps crunching in the snow behind her, someone walked over and sat next to her.  
She glanced at them, carefully.  
"I did not think you would come." He said. his voice sounded aged, but not old, maybe close to thirty-seven.  
She looked at him. "Why did you tell me to come? Who are you?" She asked him, barely keeping her voice even. She dug her nails into her palms.  
"I know you hear them, you always have." He said and turned to look at her. She looked up at him, he was a good several inches taller than her, he had a harsh face, but a mad look in his eyes and an aged sadness about him, like he has had it all his life. His hair was dark and straight, but messy. She could not help, but gape at him. He smirked and looked back at the ground. Charley knew he was talking about the drums she heard in her head, she knew it was in her head, but she did not know it was always there, thinking back she knew he was right, it was always there, even when she was a child she had heard them, drumming away in her head, but why was is louder now? why was she having dreams of it now? why did is never stop? She would ask those questions later.  
"You can call me Harold." The man said, but he was still looking at the ground.  
Charley loosened her grip and felt blood on her palm. Shoot. She thought and started to dig through her pocket for a tissue. "Here." He said and passed a band-aid. She raised her eyebrow. "Thanks." She said slowly and took the band-aid.  
He nodded and said. "You're very welcome, Charley." She froze. did he call her Charley? Did he know her name? "How do you know about the drumming in my head?" She asked him. He looked at her and she could see he was smiling, not a warm smile, just a smile, like he had not emotion, but his face was smiling. "I have heard the drums all my life as well, and I can tell when someone is slowly being driven crazy with a constant drumming in their head." He looked at her with a sad, but crazy look on his face. Charley suddenly felt like running, but she stayed their.  
"Charley, I can help you, but I need to trust me, more than you have ever trusted anyone ever and I mean ever, can you do that?" He asked and in that instant Charley thought he looked like a young child, a sad, crazy, young child that needed someone and she felt that she could help him, and she would in any way she could, he needed help and she knew what he was going through.  
She nodded. "Okay, I will trust you."


End file.
